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Post by leatherneckpa on Dec 28, 2010 20:46:29 GMT -4
Anti-Monkey Butt Powder; seen it, used it, swear by it for long days in the saddle. LOL, I buy it in the PINK bottle 'cause I'm secure in my own masculinity.
I've scored four Iron Butt rides, three of them with my wife on the back. Biggest one was 1207 miles in 23 hours that became 1503 miles in under 36 hours, all with Cindy on the back. That and it's sequel are a story in themselves.
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Post by rAcErRicK on Dec 28, 2010 21:49:20 GMT -4
Anti-Monkey Butt Powder; seen it, used it, swear by it for long days in the saddle. LOL, I buy it in the PINK bottle 'cause I'm secure in my own masculinity. I've scored four Iron Butt rides, three of them with my wife on the back. Biggest one was 1207 miles in 23 hours that became 1503 miles in under 36 hours, all with Cindy on the back. That and it's sequel are a story in themselves. Wow, that's a lotta' miles Mike, in not much time.
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Post by leatherneckpa on Dec 29, 2010 9:39:35 GMT -4
It's not as tough as some people think. Maintain an average speed of 75 mph while rolling. Gas stop/pee break is limited to 20 mins every two hours. That brings your average speed down to 65 mph overall. I NEVER use caffeine or energy drinks because I believe I need all of my whits for defensive riding. After about 6 or 8 hours though I will take two Excederin at the gas stop and then take one more at each gas stop thereafter. That takes away a lot of the muscle and joint pain. At some point in every one of those rides I have asked myself "Why am I doing this?" In fact, I have pretty much stopped doing it. I still have two more goals to hit in this field though. The Iron Butt Association certifies one ride that I consider to be the toughest of them, The Bun Burner Gold. This is 1500 miles in less than 24 hours. I just haven't had the right bike to try that yet. The second one I want is also one of IBA's rides. They call it the Ultimate Coast to Coast. It starts in Key West FL and ends in Deadhorse AK. This one is tough to get because you have only a small window of opportunity in Alaska. That ride is why I bought the V-Strom in the first place.
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Post by ☼ ЯÏĊk ☺ on Dec 30, 2010 13:38:44 GMT -4
That doesnt sound like fun to me, anymore. In my 20's, maybe. Arthritis wouldnt let me play, anyway. Some pretty, and diverse country between the Keys and Alaska. I'd watch the video!
Any of you shooters ever seen or shot a .338 Lapua? I've been dying to just hold a round in my paw for quite some time. From what I've read, if I'm right, the ballistics are kinda in between .308 and .50 BMG. Just curious, as I'll never have the means to get one in this life.
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Post by azlonerider on Dec 30, 2010 15:04:40 GMT -4
No, but the round sounds intriguing... now ima gunna have ta sirch the things that spiders make.
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Post by leatherneckpa on Dec 30, 2010 18:17:48 GMT -4
::)MAN! I HATE talking to you guys!! It's really bad for my keyboard, all that drool and stuff.
Googled the .338 and read of a confirmed sniper kill at 2707 yards!! I would absolutely LOVE to get my hands on that thing for a few weeks of fam fire and then take it to the range for score.
My longest hit for score with my Rem 700 was only 1500 yards. I did put one on paper once at the full range of 1800, which means I would have hit the guy next to the target. I was about 3" left of the bullseye. We called 1800 full range because a mile is 1780 yards, and even among us that is considered a really shot, back in the day. I don't know if it would be so amazing nowadays with all the fancy stuff they have.
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Post by leatherneckpa on Dec 30, 2010 18:50:04 GMT -4
I should probably put that shot in perspective before someone blows a gasket.
I was 21 years old and fresh off a month of range time, which was very different from the normal USMC range. Usually you shot half the day and pulled butts (targets) the other half. For us though they had what we called "butt monkeys", you'd know them as "brig rats", pulling the butts and we fired 50 rounds in the morning and another 50 rounds in the afternoon. And we didn't share targets with anyone else. That was our spot for the entire day. You fired 5 rounds, cleaned your weapon, fired 5 rounds, etc until you fired your 50. Then you cleaned the weapon and went to chow. Repeat in the afternoon. You would think that 50 rounds in four hours would be a little excessive on the time, but you have to remember that we were 2 dozen of the most competitive (arrogant) bastards you ever saw. Unbeknownst to the range officers (yeah right!) there was a $1 per shot skins game going on that was paid up each night. I lost more money than I won, but not as much as some others lost. Guess I'd say I was about average.
The entire first week was given over to fitting. Every one of us had an armorer from our company on the range with us. We'd fire 5 and they'd work a little magic. We'd fire five more and they'd work a little more. By the time they were done you couldn't screw up your sight picture and target acquisition if you tried. And then there were four more weeks (2000 rounds) fired from a rifle fitted only to you. Nobody touched that rifle except you and your armorer. SWEE-E-E-EET!! That rifle fit in my arms better than any woman ever did. (Good thing my wife doesn't read this!)
On the last day we had a "friendly competition" between the grads and the PMI's which was held on the full distance range. I was 3/8" closer to the bullseye than my PMI, but I didn't win any money 'cause I wasn't in the black. At all the other ranges my PMI and I were very competitive and finished with a tied score, but he beat me by X-ring count by 1. That cost me $50 I really couldn't afford.
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Post by rAcErRicK on Dec 30, 2010 19:39:38 GMT -4
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Post by rAcErRicK on Dec 30, 2010 20:04:01 GMT -4
50 BMG recoil from a Barrett. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro6TGFg6hzkThe sniper is without doubt the most feared combatant in any theater of war, the best of whom have an array of skills far beyond simply being able to hit human targets at a distance. Snipers are the most cost effective way of killing the enemy. Individual snipers routinely account for more kills than entire battalions operating in the same place at the same time, hit the target almost every time, and each bullet costs around €2. Whatsmore, snipers inflict a psychological terror on an enemy force that restricts its ability to operate effectively – when elite snipers are operating, they are invisible close up, and can strike from enormous distance, so nowhere is safe. Indeed, an elite sniper's skills cannot be assessed with a single measurement, so the “longest confirmed kill” record stands as the pseudo world championship for military combat riflemen, and as of now there's a new outright champion - using an Accuracy International L115A3, British Corporal Craig Harrison killed two Taliban with consecutive shots at a distance of 2.47 kilometres (8120 ft) in Helmand Province, Afghanistan last November (2009). He then fired a third shot and hit the Taliban's PKM machinegun in perhaps the most prodigious feat of marksmanship in military history. If you're wondering why it took so long for Harrison's kill to be made public, (it was made last November and only became commonly known in the last few days), understand that the publicity such a feat brings may not necessarily be wanted, or healthy, particularly if you are still "in theater". Harrison, who also survived a bullet passing through his helmet, and two broken arms from an IED explosion, has now finished his tour of duty and the story can be told. Confirmed kills 1,250 m (1,367 yd) or greater Sniper Date Distance Weapon Ammunition Nationality Military Unit Conflict References Corporal of Horse (CoH) Craig Harrison November 2009 2,475 m (2,707 yd) L115A3 Long Range Rifle .338 Lapua Magnum LockBase B408 bullets UK Household Cavalry War in Afghanistan [6][7] [8][9] Corporal Rob Furlong March 2002 2,430 m (2,657 yd) McMillan Tac-50 Hornady A-MAX .50 (.50 BMG) Canada 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry War in Afghanistan [10] Master Corporal Arron Perry March 2002 2,310 m (2,526 yd) McMillan Tac-50 Hornady A-MAX .50 (.50 BMG) Canada 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry War in Afghanistan [10] Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock February 1967 2,286 m (2,500 yd) M2 Browning machine gun .50 BMG USA United States Marine Corps Vietnam War [2] Corporal Christopher Reynolds August 2009 1,853 m (2,026 yd) Accuracy International L115A3 .338 Lapua Magnum LockBase B408 bullets UK 3 Scots – The Black Watch War in Afghanistan [11] Unknown Norwegian sniper November 2007 1,380 m (1,509 yd) Barret M82A1 Raufoss NM140 MP (12.7 mm multi-purpose ammunition) Norway Norwegian Army 2nd Battalion War in Afghanistan [12] Staff Sergeant Jim Gilliland September 27, 2005 1,250 m (1,367 yd) M24 rifle 7.62x51mm NATO USA 2nd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Sniper Shadow Team Iraq War – Ramadi [13] [edit]Annotations
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_recorded_sniper_kills
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Post by leatherneckpa on Dec 30, 2010 22:33:02 GMT -4
So as you can see, in some circles I would have been considered mediocre at best. And of course there is the fact that I was never in combat. I have to believe that would make a difference.
Those guys are amazing!
Wish I had the time/money to train at that level again. I am considering joining a "sportsman's club" near me that has a 1000 yd range and holds a couple of matches a year. $50 just to be a member. Probably not though, not a priorityat this time.
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Post by ☼ ЯÏĊk ☺ on Dec 31, 2010 8:45:35 GMT -4
Thanks for sharing, guys. What intrigues me about the .338 vs the .50 is the title of this thread. Ka- Ching! It's all just amazing what people can make a rifle do.
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Post by rAcErRicK on Dec 31, 2010 9:08:17 GMT -4
So as you can see, in some circles I would have been considered mediocre at best. And of course there is the fact that I was never in combat. I have to believe that would make a difference. Those guys are amazing! Wish I had the time/money to train at that level again. I am considering joining a "sportsman's club" near me that has a 1000 yd range and holds a couple of matches a year. $50 just to be a member. Probably not though, not a priorityat this time. Yea, me too Mike. In my day, official military sniper training was in it's infancy and was conducted at the same 1000 yd. range with other infantry troops although at a seperate section, and the weapons were basically the same 30-06 Garande only with a scope. So the attraction for me wasn't all that great at the time. The Army had learned to seek out the country boys who already knew how to shoot well and make use their abilities. It was rather boring so I soon chose to advance to the light 30 Browning machine gun. The schools were much more exciting and division and higher competition was much more fun. It was after I got out that I really got into the long range aspects, and weapons developement really took off. A small group of interested friends and myself acquired access to a small piece of land where we layed out a 1600 yd. range, and it was there that I learned the most, from each other and books. We conducted our own training routines and trained quite a few newbies that were interested as well, so yes, a private club of like minded (usually vets) you would find greatly enjoyable I'm sure. Prolly even more so than the real thing. The key is to find a few people similar in likes and abilities such as your own to form a basic group. Or as you mentioned, find an allready organized group. I also discovered that doing your own minor modifications and "rolling your own" ammo is crucial. That is a science within it's self. You'll be surprised at how many vets there are out there who have had similar experiences. It's amazing how much accuracy can be improved on with your own selection and rejection of loading componants and testing. Sure it would be nice to be able to "purchace" the finest machinery out there, but with careful shopping and preperation you'll be surprised at how close you can come to perfection on a low budget. Skill can almost always overcome cubic money. That's all I've ever had or known. Good luck.
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Post by ☼ ЯÏĊk ☺ on Dec 31, 2010 18:13:37 GMT -4
You went and ruint it Rick, by sayin that scarey word again. Skill. lol
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Post by rAcErRicK on Jan 1, 2011 0:32:29 GMT -4
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Post by ☼ ЯÏĊk ☺ on Jan 1, 2011 1:47:56 GMT -4
oHHHH. The Gladius looks like it would do the trick. Check out the bolt handle. I could maybe afford that part. lol
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